Over the past five years, Google.org has invested over $200 million in AI for social good initiatives, tackling pressing global issues such as hunger and public health. As a continuation of these efforts, we introduced AI Collaboratives last September, a new funding approach that brings together public, private, and nonprofit organizations, as well as researchers, to develop AI-powered solutions that benefit people worldwide. This initiative is designed to unite diverse stakeholders in creating innovative solutions to address some of humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Today, we are sharing more information about our first two focus areas for AI Collaboratives: Wildfires and Food Security. Our experience in funding AI-powered solutions, extensive research on AI’s potential to address significant global challenges, and collaboration with Google Research have shown us that these areas can greatly benefit from AI. Here’s an update on the progress we’ve made so far in these critical areas.

AI Collaborative: Wildfires

Wildfires pose a significant global crisis, resulting in over 300,000 lives lost annually due to smoke exposure and causing billions of dollars in economic damage. The AI Collaborative: Wildfires is a strategic initiative by Google.org that brings together leading nonprofits, academic institutions, government agencies, and companies to help people and communities better manage fires using AI. To date, Google.org has contributed over $27 million to this collaborative effort, demonstrating our commitment to addressing this critical issue.

Google.org has convened a coalition of over 15 organizations, including the Earth Fire Alliance and the Moore Foundation, to support this important endeavor. By coordinating funding and integrating cutting-edge science, emerging technology, and on-the-ground applications, we can provide collaborators with the necessary tools to identify and track wildfires in near real-time, quantify wildfire risk, and reduce the damage caused by catastrophic wildfires. This collaborative approach enables us to leverage the strengths of each partner and drive meaningful progress in addressing this complex challenge.

AI Collaborative: Food Security

Nearly one-third of the world’s population faces moderate or severe food insecurity due to extreme weather, conflict, and economic shocks. The AI Collaborative: Food Security aims to strengthen the resilience of global food systems and improve food security for the most vulnerable populations through AI technologies, collaborative research, data-sharing, and coordinated action. To date, 10 organizations have joined us in this effort, and we look forward to sharing more updates soon on the progress we’re making in this critical area.

The Power of Collaboration

AI Collaboratives are built on the idea that AI’s potential lies not only in the technology itself but also in the partnerships that enable its responsible application. By addressing pressing challenges like wildfires and food insecurity, we hope that these Collaboratives will create a foundation for AI to make meaningful societal contributions for years to come. The power of collaboration is essential in driving progress in these areas, and we believe that by working together, we can unlock the full potential of AI to drive positive change.